Smoke-purifier



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1;

v 0. PINK.

SMOKE PURIFIER.

No.-'486,Z47. Patented Nov. 15,1392.

THE NORRIS F ETERS 00., FHDTCLLITHQ. WASHINGTON n c 2Sheets--Sheet 2. v

(No Model.)

O PINK v SMOKE PURIFIER; No. 486,247. Patented N0v..15,'1892.

5 anmdfz 72 TH! NORRIS PErEns 00.. Pum'uuma. WASHINGTON n c UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

CONRAD FINK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SMOKE-PURIFIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 486,247, dated November15, 1892. Application filed April 6,1892. Serial No. 427,905. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CONRAD FINK, of the city of St. Louis and State ofMissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methodsof-and Apparatus for Purifying Smoke and Precipitating the Products ofCombustion Thereof, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying draw ings, forminga part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in methods of and apparatus forpurifying smoke and precipitating the products of combustion thereof;and it consists in the novel arrangement and combination of parts, aswill be more fully hereinafter described, and desig nated in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my complete inventionas applied to the stack of a furnace. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinalsection of the tank or receptacle which contains the water and throughwhich the smoke is forced. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on theline a: a: of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4. is ahorizontal section taken on theline y y of Fig. 2.

The object of my invention is to purify as much as possible the productsof combustion passing from furnaces and the like by forcing same into atank containing a body of water, agitating the same or imparting motionthereto in one direction, and further providing the said tank with asuitable number of stationary and revoluble sieves or screens ofdiiferent-sized mesh, through which the said products of combustionpass, the said revo luble sieves or screens being rotated by anysuitable means in a reversed direction to the motion of the water,whereby all particles mixed with or forming a part of the said productsof combustion are reduced and caused to be precipitated before beingallowed to escape into the open air.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a furnace, and 2 a smoke-stack,which is in communication with the said furnace, through which theproducts of combustion passing from the furnace are adapted to pass,both of which are of the ordinary construction, and to the smoke-stackmy invention is easily applied. It will be readily understood, however,that my invention can be applied to chimneys in a similar manner andwith like results without departing from the nature of my invention. Thesaid smoke-stack is divided into two compartments 3 and 4 and isnormally divided by a sliding damper or valve 5 for preventing theproducts of combustion from passing directly into the open air. To

one side of the pipe 2 and below. the saiddamper is fixed a bearing 6,to which is movably attached a lever 7, the upper end of which ismovably attached to the said end of the damper, by which constructionthe said damper is manipulated, closing the said damper when the deviceis in operation and for opening the same when it'is desired to start thefurnace, in which instance the pro ducts of combustion will be allowedto pass straight up the smoke-stack 2 into the open air.

8 represents'a pipe one end of which is in communication with theinterior of the smokestack 2 below the said damper and the opposite endin communication with a pump 9,

which may be operated by steam or any other suitable power, throughwhich pipe the said products of combustion are drawn into the, said pumpand out through the pipe 10, one;

end of which is also in communication with the said pump.

11 represents a tank or receptacle which is preferably circular incross-section and is provided with a removable cover 12, which in shaperesembles that of a frustum of a cone. The opposite end of the said pipe10 isin communication with the interior of the said tank or receptaclethrough the side thereof and adjacent to the bottom of the same, asclearly shown in the drawings, and is arranged in a plane tangentialtothe circumference of the said tank or receptacle, the object of whichwill be hereinafter more fully set forth. The said tank or receptacle 11is constructed to receive a sufficient amount of water, which may beheld therein a certain length of time or passed out of the samesimultaneously as the water is passed into the same. 13 represents apipe, which is in communication with any suitable water-supply and alsoin communication with the said tank, and 14 repredrainage-for instance,a sewer. To the side of the said tank 11 is fixed a water-gage 15, whichis in communication with the interior thereof and is adapted to indicatethe height or volume of water contained in said tank. Within the saidtank is located and arranged any number of stationary and revolublescreens, which are located within the water contained in saidreceptacle, as best illustrated in Fig. 2, for the purposes hereinafterdescribed, and through which the products of combustion at the differentstages of purification are adapted to pass before the same are allowedto escape into the open air.

Referring particularly to Ft g. 2 of the drawings, it will be seen thatI employ, for the sake of illustration, only two sieves or screens; butsaid number may be greatly increased in order to more effectually purifythe products of combustion without departing from the nature of myinvention.

16 represents aband, which is provided with an annularinwardly-projecting flange 17 and said band fixed to the innercylindrical surface of the said tank in any desirable manner. To theupper edge of the said annular flange 17 is fixed a circular sieve orscreen 18, which is rendered stationary thereby, the meshes of which maybe of any suitable size, but somewhat coarser than the meshes of therotating sieve or screen hereinafter described. Immediately abovethesaid band 16 or a suitable distance therefrom is fixed asecond band19,which isalso located within the said tank andacts as a support forthe edge of the said rotating screen. 20 represents the rotating screenor sieve, which is of such a size as to cover the entire space of saidtank, but adapted to be freely rotated therein, the annular flange ofsaid band 19 preventing the products of combustion from passing betweenthe edge of the said screen or sieve and the inner surface of the saidtank. To the lower surface of the said sieve 20 are fixed any number ofpins 21, thelower ends of which normally rest upon the upper edge of theannular flange of the band 19, which causes the said screen or sieve tofreely rotate and further hold the same in a rigid position when motionis imparted to the same. The upper end of the said cap 12is providedwith a tubular extension 22, and interposed between the upper edge ofthe extension and the plate 23 is rubber or other packing 24, to whichthe vertical operatingshaft 25 passes, forming an air-tight connectionbetween the saidtank and shaft. The said shaft, or more properly thelower end thereof, passes through the said sieve 20 and stationary sieve18 and the terminal end thereof fitted into a socket 25, which holds thesaid shaft in its proper position within the said tank and furtherallows the same to be rotated therein. The sieve 20 is fixed to the saidshaft 2 f by a pin 26, which passes through the extension 27 of saidsieve and through the said shaft; but the said shaft loosely passesthrough the sieve 18 and is not in any way fixed to the same.

The upper end of the said shaft 25 may extend any suitable distanceabove the top of the said tank 11 or to any convenient portion of thebuilding within which the same is located, and fixed to the saidprojecting end is a belt-pulley 28, around which a belt 29 is passed forimparting motion to the said shaft. The power for impartin g motion tothe said belt may be of any suitable source-for instance, a smallengine,

which may be located at any convenient portion of the building-or thesaid belt maybe run by separate machinery, if found'desirable.

30 represents a pipe, the lower end of which is in communication withthe interior of the tank 11, and said end fixed to the cover 12 of saidtank in any desirable manner. The opposite end of the said pipe 30 is incommunication with the interior of the smoke-stack 2 above the damper 5,through which pipe the purified products of combustion are adapted topass and into the stack 2 before the same are allowed to escape into theopen air.

It may be found desirable in practice to extend the pipe 30 through theroof of the building and pass the purified products of combustiondirectly into the open air without passing the same into the stack 2, aspreviously described and shown.

The products of combustion on passing from the furnace are drawn to thepipe 8 by the pump 9 through the pipe 10 and into the tank 11, in whichcase the water containedin the said tank will be given a motion in thedirection as shown by the arrows in Fig. 3 by the force of the productsof combustion upon the said water, and at the same time a vacuum will becreated within the stack 2 below the valve 5. The products of combustion being forced into the said tank at the bottom thereof willgradually rise through the water contained in said tank and a por tionof said products of combustion or the finer particles pass through thescreen 18, the larger particles being prevented from passing throughsaid screen and precipitated at the bottom of the said tank. Theproducts of combustion that have been partially purified by the waterand the stationary sieve 18 will next come in contact with the rotatingsieve 20 and its particles reduced by the motion of said sieve and theparticles precipitated, after which the said purified products ofcombustion will pass through the water located above the said sieve 20and out through the pipe 30 into the open air in the form of an exhaust.

When the pump 9 is in operation, I desire to regulate the vacuum in thestack 2 below the valve 5 by means of a valve 31, which is regulated byhand for allowing the air to pass through the same from the outside, andthus reduce the vacuum or draft of the furnace.

The sieves or screens may be constructed of anysuitable material andmade of strands of wire or from a sheet of metal and the same punchedwith any suitable number of openings the proper size.

IIO

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In an apparatusfor purifying smoke, the combination, with a circular tank and stationary and rotating screens disposed therein, of an inlet-pipecommunicating with the lower end of the tank obliquely to a diametricalplane and an outlet-pipe communicating with the top of the tank,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A smoke-purifier consisting of a pipe 8 in communication with theflue of the furnace, a pump or other suitable source of draft inconnection with said pipe, a pipe, such as 10, in communication with thesaid pump and with a suitable tank containing a body of water, astationary sieve, such as 18, fixed within the said tank, amovable sieve20, also located within said tank and adapted to be rotated in onedirection, a, flanged band 19, lo- 20 CONRAD FINK.

Witnesses:

O. F. KELLER, ALFRED A. EIoKs.

